Today

Lately, I've really been trying to soak it all in. Remember every little detail from my kids' days. Remember the crazy and smart things Stone says. Remember the peek-a-boo game I play with Emerson, and her squeel when she sees any kind of animal. I've even been trying to soak in Stone's misbehavior. Recently, a few times in public, when I feel like my kids are way too crazy, I've had several different people approach me (perhaps because of my horrible poker face), and tell me, "I PROMISE YOU. You will miss this stage." Another lady said, "ooooh, what I'd give to have just one day with my kids these ages again doing these things." When I hear people say these things, I realize that these crazy little munchkins are going to be grown up before I know it. And so.... I've really tried to soak in every single second with my kids lately. The last few days I've been slower to scold Stone, and quicker to play with him when he asks. I LOVE THESE KIDS. THEY ARE "MORE THAN LOVE".

Thanks, Lor, for these boots!! Emerson is in love with them, and so am I.

Hahaha, yes, Stone is in the baby swing. He loves to swing next to Emerson.

Stone teaching Emerson all about dandelions:

Ooooo! I know you were wondering if we'd get through a whole post with Stone's clothes on! The Superman one-peice swimsuit (a gift from Jordan and Rachel--something you've seen on this blog many of times). It's the gift that keeps giving and giving and giving and giving.

And then he had to button back up to become "Clark Kent" again. Yes, he does all layers.

One week left!

...to finish what we can to our new home before we move in.

We've been painting a lot, and last night, Cliff started on our floors. We are SO excited! We hope to move in this weekend. We'll see if it happens!

Stone has been a big helper. He's painted a bit, but more importantly, he's kept Emerson occupied.

colors shown in these pictures no longer exist. the walls have been painted.

Sure, he gets into things.

And decides to play drums...

are you surprised he's in his undies? we really do try to keep clothes on this kid.

But he really has been a joy for the most part.

A couple funny things he has said lately:

*"Pa-leeeease! I'll be you're best friend." --uses this line for everything. Such as: "Mommy, please let me ride your back down the stairs. I'll be your best friend!"

*The other night, about 3am, he called out for me. I ran into his room, and he was sitting with his legs crossed, naked. I said, "Stone! What are you doing?"

He said, "Well, I'm a naked boy."

I said, "Yes, I see that. WHY?"

"Well, my undies kinda hurt. I think they're small. Can you give me bigger ones?"

I reached in his drawer, grabbed some, put them on him, and then he passed out on his bed in a split second.

As for this sweet girl...

She has become quite the copy cat. She loves to imitate Stone. She loves to play hide and seek, and she loves to dance! She carries my iPhone around everywhere, set on the ipod and dances. If the music stops, she throws a fit until I can turn it on.

The girls at the gym say she is a handful and that Stone is a piece of cake. I am absolutely shocked everytime they tell me that. She is the easiest child at home, and Stone is the one always into trouble.

I love these two!

Time to buy a lawn mower.

....and a grill.

....and spend this next week doing some more of this....

...because we just bought a house!

After being transient students for the last 6.5 years between Provo, Salt Lake City and Lubbock, we have finally arrived at a point in our lives to chill for a bit, and buy a house.

We closed on our house a week ago, and in that week, we have scraped off all the popcorn ceilings downstairs, and spent all day yesterday painting and repainting them. WHAT A PROJECT. Thanks to some awesome friends (Julie and Bo) that watched our kids, we were able to get a lot done. We are in our other place until the end of the month, so we have a couple more weeks to tackle as many projects as we possibly can before we move in. WE ARE BEYOND THRILLED.

Next up, painting all the walls (including that orange-ish brown-ish wall in the picture).

This is the reason I have been so absent from my blog! I was shocked that my last post was 2.5 weeks ago!

Stay tuned to see more projects and more of our house!